2021 NFL Week 6: Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers

The Vikings are back on the road before the bye

After playing three consecutive games in the cozy confines of U.S. Bank Stadium, your Minnesota Vikings will take to the road for their final game before the bye week as they head to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers.

After a couple of tough losses in their first two games, the Vikings won two of three on their homestand, including a thrilling. . .relatively speaking, anyway. . .19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions this past Sunday thanks to Greg Joseph’s 54-yard field goal at the gun. The Panthers are heading in the other direction, losers of two in a row after winning their first three games, including dropping a 21-18 decision to the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday at home.

Much of the intrigue in this one will surround the two star running backs for these two teams. Dalvin Cook missed his second game of the year last week because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Week 2 loss to Arizona. Meanwhile, the Panthers have declared that Christian McCaffrey is “50-50” to be available on Sunday. He’s missed the last two games for Carolina with a hamstring injury he suffered against Houston in Week 3.

This will be the second straight year these two teams have met. If you’ll remember, the Vikings squeaked out a 28-27 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium last year as Chad Beebe went from goat to hero in the span of about ten minutes, following a muffed punt deep in Carolina territory by catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to seal the win.

Kickoff for this one will be at noon Central time on FOX, with Kenny Albert and cheatin’ Jonathan Vilma on the call.